act complete Angelcynn: The Myrcian Conflict - Act 3 Reunion

[Terrador]

Dumber and Dumberer

Angus chuckles weakly, at a loss for how to handle this woman. His words soared like ducks over her head, but at least one of the three wasn't planning his demise. Progress! The last insinuation, however, elicited a genuine laugh, and a slap that sprayed water over the airhead rider.

"Believe me, I don't go lookin' for trouble--it jus' follows me around!" Geoffrey is once again lifted from the water, dripping water onto Angus' already-sopping skull as he looks up at the furry beast. "Ain't that righ', Trouble?"

Trouble vocalized in response, a roar so quiet and protracted one might imagine a cat in his place. Once again, he's set free to swim, as Angus leans back into the water--a calm and enjoyable hour for him, even if not for everyone else.

[Shin]

Moving Along

With much of the drama from the afternoon having resolved, and having secured a place to reside, it seemed Owen's group would have some time where disaster had chosen not to follow them. The evening soon came, the clear skies of Magonsaete having grown dark and littered with stars. The village had grown rather quiet during the afternoon, but the festivities soon began to come to life as lanterns were lit. The populace soon reinhabited the streets, many of them heading towards the Farmer's Boot. In a place so far away from civilisation, it appeared it was their main source of entertainment.

There wasn't any event in particular going on, but Perroy had asked for a little while to prepare the barn for their use - in short, he didn't want to see them for a while. Much of the group had gathered at the tavern, and there didn't seem to be really any other places to see.

Resembling neither the Goose or the Codger, the Farmer's Boot was a respectable little country establishment. Tidy but not too prim, busy but not packed, it had a charm about it that Hull couldn't offer. With a good number of villagers as well as their own group present, it was unlikely to be a quiet night. Sebastian and Scuttle were both absent, although anyone who had been at the library that day would understand why. Even the Reliants and nobles had turned up for the night, the chances were they needed time to unwind like the rest of them. With the young man from before manning the bar, and a variety of villagers around it, getting a drink could possibly take some time.

The party is free to post!

[Dandragon]

Serge had shown up earlier and was able to have gotten himself a drink or two. He wasn't drunk by any means, but the alcohol allowed him to unwind. He liked it here. It had a feel that both the taverns he'd been to in Hull that the others didn't. And it gave him a place to reflect and get friendly with people that he usually didn't talk to. But who was there to speak to? Serge looked around and waited for an opportunity.

And the he saw it. The mage girl that had been shot by Scuttle was all by her lonesome. Well...I suppose the right thing to do would be to check up on her. Serge made his way over and sat down next to her. "Hey...You're Claire, right? Feeling any better?"

Edited October 19, 2016 by Dandragon

[SB.]

"It's been a long time then, huh..." At the very least, Charlotte seemed optimistic about things, based on what she'd said earlier. "Maybe it just feels that way because of the last month or so though." They'd certainly been busy, and Claire felt like they'd changed a lot since setting out to quell Dettard's uprising. It was strange to think that it happened so recently...

---

The next few hours had been a quieter affair. She'd managed to convince Charlotte that she was feeling better (and it wasn't a total lie, anyway) and left to visit the church, apparently. It wasn't what Claire expected, but some time to herself helped to clear her mind a bit. She left the Boot shortly afterwards, but nothing eventful took place - which was a relief. She returned to the bar feeling a little more refreshed, but still worn out after the Scuttle incident.

The mercenary leader from earlier came up to check on her, which made her feel a kind of guilty for blanking him - even if it was kind of reasonable. "I am, erm... Serge, right?" She thought that was his name anyway, but only because of what Susan had said earlier. If not, she probably would've thought his name was Steve or something. "How's Emmet?" Her face quickly turned to a frown. Between his injuries, delirium and the vial she expected him to be much worse for wear.

[Dandragon]

"Yeah, that's me." He nodded. He wasn't sure how she knew his name, but was glad he did. "Emmet is...doing okay. He's not bleeding, and I'm pretty sure he can walk on his own. If not, he has to just ask to lean on me for a little bit. What matters is that you're both alive." And he drank to it, taking a sip from his glass.

And at that point Serge realized he didn't really have much to talk about between the two of them besides the incident. ...Well, besides the fact that they knew nothing of each other. "Hey...you're a noble, right? Somebody from a wealthy family? Why did ya come along this crazy ride, if ya don't mind me asking?"

[SB.]

No news about Emmet was good news, she decided. That didn't ease her worries about the effects of the vial on him, but she nodded along with Serge all the same until he asked a... kind of strange question. She frowned slightly, but it wasn't like she had any reason not to answer it.

"My father was a knight." she responded. She wasn't exactly on the same level as Serge's employer, or even the Valter sisters for that matter, but she still had a small title from it. "I just picked up where he left off, and it was a chance to improve my magic as well." The latter hadn't really been true until very recently. She had the materials to learn with, but until they'd run into the brigands in Alleun's village she hadn't been able to apply her knowledge and get proper practice in. Wyke wasn't a country with a particularly large population of mages either, which didn't help. "Why do you ask?" she questioned, wondering why Serge was so interested.

[Dandragon]

Serge shurgged. "I guess I'm just wondering what's it like, ya know? To not have to fight for the scraps of food left behind. To have your every basic needs met each day. To just...live in a nice house. With a kitchen. And a working bathroom. I gotta wonder, y'know. After all, not everyone gets to have that, 'specially not at birth." He took another shot of his drink, then wiped his lips. The stuff tasted nice. Better than anything at that Codger, that's for sure. "It sounds really nice, to me. I don't have anything like that in Myrcia, at least not in my village."

[Nanami Touko]

Everyone was making their way into this bar, this... Farmer's Boot. Everyone except for Cassandra. She stood outside the establishment, watching people enter, watching people leave; mostly just watching. Her last visit to this sort of situation had left her head in a sack, among other things, and it hadn't been anywhere near pleasant. Thus was... Apprehensive-- a good way to put it --about getting any closer. Of course, the safest place would have been inside, but fear wasn't logical. So she stood and watched, and watched, and watched...

Until a familiar tuft of hair popped its way into the crowds of people. "Adele!" she chirped, quickly hopping over to her. "Hello~ Quaint little village, isn't it? I haven't seen you since we all got here... I take it you've been busy. I've... Been dealing with a few things, myself, but we can talk about that later. For now... Would you accompany me, milady~?" With an over the top curtsy to mask her shaking, she giggled and offered Adele her hand. I know she can read me... But for Engel's sake, just this once...

Edited October 20, 2016 by Narmaya

[SB.]

"Having all of that doesn't mean we don't have to pull our weight." The crossed her arms and looked away from Serge, a little miffed, before wrinkling her nose "Or that Angus will actually learn to bathe one of these days." she sighed, redirecting her annoyance his way. She wasn't sure exactly what the young baron had gotten up to, but he smelled of dampness, even from across the room. "Ordinary people don't have to worry about politics, insane wizards or anything like that." she sighed. She really wished that she hadn't brought it up after her mood had been improving.

[Dandragon]

"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up anything like that. You're right, regular folk don't really have to deal with the stuff we've dealt with." It wasn't hard to see that Serge had said something insensitive, or at least struck a nerve with the young mage. Perhaps that wasn't the best conversation to have. Serge thought for a moment, taking yet another shot. If anything, Serge was good at withholding himself from drinking too much in a sip. Just the right about to savor the taste, but not to take away too much from the glass. "Alright, how about this? You got any plans for the future?"

[riariadne]

With Claire assuring her that everything was fine, Sidney didn't feel guilty leaving her to visit the chapel for the evening mass. It felt refreshing to visit after her long absence from any sort of holy establishment, so she came walking back to the tavern to make sure things were still alright with a smile.

The tavern was definitely busier than she'd remembered before. "Uh... I guess everyone comes here now..." she remarked rather obviously, weaving her way through the crowd. Most of the group was present now, and seemed to be seated at least somewhat close to each other, so she gave Claire a wave of acknowledgement before sitting near Owen, probably not to the surprise of any who knew her. "Good evening, dearest," she spoke quietly into his ear, leaning her head on his shoulder and sighing contently. "Long day... how are you?"

[Juliette]

Freya's day hadn't been as productive as she wanted. Somehow she and the axe brothers managed to miss most of the group for a while, other than passing by some of the mercenaries painting a fence, of all things. So her mood wasn't the best when the group converged at the tavern for the night. A bunch of smashed nobles that I have to look out for, ready to make bad decisions. And some of them already make plenty of those. Just what I wanted to do for the night.

Still, she did let her mind stay at ease at least a little. With what seemed like the whole town at the bar, the chances of an open fight were lowered, and hopefully the princess would be wise enough to keep her last trip to a bar in mind.

The soldier felt a bit awkward with her armor, but even she was not so ridiculously paranoid as to bring a lance here. Even though there was no being too careful when it came to the prince, it probably wouldn't be welcome anyway. Currently she stationed herself somewhat close to the prince, but she was still sure to check on Princess Cassandra out the window every once in a while. Freya rolled her eyes a bit when Sidney slunk up to Owen, but in reality it was probably better for him to enjoy her company, and he was probably safer with her closer. With him not in danger, she opted to relax a bit, sitting down next to one of the other visiting Raewaldians, the diplomat.

"We're not far from your homeland now, Sir Alain. Are you looking forward to the visit much? How is Raewald compared to what you've seen of Wyke?"

[Jotari]

After spending the rest of the day resting, Emmet awoke feeling quite a bit better. Though still quite light headed. He decided some more food was what he needed so he headed down stairs to the tavern for a late dinner. Most of Prince Owen's party were already there but he could not see Princess Cassandra. He had said he'd meet her by the duck pond but that was before he got shot. If she didn't turn up by the time he'd finished his meal then he'd go look for her. Though drinking was probably the last thing that was advised for him at this time, he decided to try stout. Perhaps a lower blood level would get him drunker with less damage to his purse.

Edited October 20, 2016 by Jotari

[SB.]

"Don't worry about it. You have your own problems to worry about." she waved a hand dismissively before replying to his next question. "I don't really have any." Making plans with Malaphar still at large made any plan beyond trying to help Owen tenuous at best. Speaking of that...

"Hey, one of your mercenaries uses illusion magic, right? Would I be able to speak with her? I think it could be helpful, if I'm not overthinking things." Her assumption that Malaphar had already been vialed meant that Morganna's magic could hardly compare, but perhaps the rules behind them remained the same. "It doesn't have to be tonight, but before we leave again would be best." She leaned back into her chair. The mage was still shattered, so putting it off for the evening didn't bother her.

[Toogee]

Dougistan's finest bachelor

Eager to ensure Doug made the purchase of a life time, the woman was visibly contemplating his suggestion. "I'll let you try it out, but don't go running off with it." she warned, deadly serious in her words. "You seem like a decent guy, but it's really not easy to get hold of these. These are straight from Wihtwar's academy. There's a high flying sorceress who's into the more obscure branches of magic. It's a friend of a friend of a friend thing."

Placing the charm in Doug's hand, the woman held his hand firmly. "I have faith in you. Only the most repulsive ill-mannered brute could fail with something like this." she added.

"Deal," Doug said as he held up the charm. "Now, let's see how well this charm really works."

Doug was glad that no one he knew was around (at least, he didn't see them). It would make the charm test much less awkward. He wasn't sure what the most effective position for the necklace was, so he simply kept it in his hand. His hand was held next to his face, to ensure that ladies would associate their feelings with him and not some other guy. He had that happen before. It wasn't a good feeling.

He then proceeded to perform the most exaggerated walk the town has likely ever seen. Still in view of the merchant's stall, Doug circled around the plaza. His feet extended high into the air with each step he took. Surely if complete strangers fell for him after this performance, than Decima would surely be head over heels for regular ol' Doug.

[spoiler=Reference]

[Dandragon]

"Morganna? Yeah, I could probably arrange something, later." Serge remembered she had interest in other mages, or at least that was what she had said when he recruited her. At the time, and even now, Serge didn't see anything wrong with it. He just thought she wanted to a teacher to someone, and perhaps this would be a good opportunity. Speaking of which...where was Morganna?

"...Say...Did you know anyone by the name of Gerrard?" A random question to ask, but it was only now as he was reflecting on his decisions did he remember someone by that name, and was wondering if anyone else did. Surely a 'knight' might know him?

[Ether]

Adeltrudis' quiet little walk had been interrupted rather abruptly, as Cassandra came over to her, chipper and talking rather swiftly, filled with energy and life. It was a more abrupt change to the Princess than the one to her own surroundings had been, and the distinct shaking of Cassandra's hand as Adele took it, the young heiress' face scrunched into a bit of a frown. It was still quite soon, even if she had recovered some, and upon a glance, the small country bar was far from... ideal for the Princess, all things considered. Still, she was trying to appear okay, perhaps it was best to play along for now. Lifting Cassandra's hand to her own face, she gave the back of her hand a kiss, before smiling at the Princess.

"Milady? What malarkey is that formal talk, who are you and what have you done with my Cassandra? She couldn't pretend to be fancy as her name, even if her life depended on it." Adele teased, her sudden grin and change of tone making her jesting hopefully rather apparent.

[SB.]

"Gerrard was one of Owen's other vassals." she offered, wondering where all of the mercenary's weird questions were coming from. "I haven't seen him in a while. Since the end of the Dettard campaign, I think." She didn't know what had happened to him after that. "Did Lady Adele tell you anything about it?" That seemed like most likely source of information. It was common knowledge that they'd quelled the uprising by this point, but Gerrard had been one of the background figures, with not a lot being said about him. It was a little strange.

[Dandragon]

"Dettard Campaign? No, I don't know anything about that." Serge took another sip of his drink, then he quickly remembered something as he swallowed. "No, wait, there was one thing. I think Angus told me about some...giant man you guys fought or something? But other than that, nah, I don't know anything. ...You mind telling me about it? Sounds pretty interesting."

[Vestige]

With the day's earlier mishaps behind him for the time being, Alain had taken the opportunity to get some reading done. People had begun to congregate at the Farmer's Boot, and while the location wasn't particularly conducive to the activity he had in mind, the atmosphere was pleasant enough.

"Ah, good evening. Miss Freya, if I recall? How kind of you to join me," he smiled, snapping his book shut and slipping it away. He took a short sip from his mug, which was topped off with chilled water. He never was one for alcohol, and the crowd at the bar-front meant he probably wasn't getting some anyway. He recognized Freya a bit, though he'd never taken the time to speak with her before now. She was either off doing whatever duty she was assigned to, or meandering about around the princess. No doubt a part of her duty as well.

"With all that's happened so far, even if I wasn't before, I certainly am now," he chuckled. As a child his world was self-contained, limited to the few meager streets he was able to navigate. As an adolescent, he'd spent much time away from home. So even for him as a native adult, the splendor of Raewald's inner cities was always a sight to behold. "Wyke is nice, but home is home," he mused. "And as for you, Miss Freya? Have you done much traveling before, or is this your first time away from Wyke?"

[SB.]

Really? Was he living under a rock for the past month or something? Claire frowned a little, but explained all the same. "Well, the short of it is that Baron Dettard was planning a coup. The Prince gathered a party of us to investigate it, and we fought our way to his castle after meeting up with Lady Adele and the Reliants." The old, smaller version of the Reliants anyway. She had no idea where Niko went, and since his ascension to lordship Doug had pretty much turned into an idiot.

"Dettard challenged Owen to a duel once we arrived and lost, but his mercenaries kept fighting. We won eventually, but it wasn't clean." Her face fell a little as she spoke. They'd lost Lionel's men, and then Gerarrd and Lionel himself had left as well afterwards. Not great memories. "In the end, he was executed. Story over. Angus and Doug own his lands now - Engel knows if they'll end up in worse shape or not by the end of the Summer." Between Angus' no tax policy and Doug being Doug, Claire didn't have high hopes for them.

[Nanami Touko]

Thank you.

"How rude! I am the perfect model of a proper lady~ Fancy, well kept, and articulate. Plenty respectful to boot~ Really, Adele, what less could you expect from someone of my stahahahaha~" She'd tried her best to hold it together, but the whole facade was too tiresome to even joke about with a straight face. "Come on, then. Let's go and find out what the best sort of drink to get is. You don't mind if I hold your hand, do you?" She wouldn't take no for an answer, anyway, tightening her fingers around Adele's.

The Boot was packed, both with villagers and parts of their group. The bar itself was too stuffed, and squeezing in for a taste of whatever they offered could wait until there was less ruckus. Some of the tables were empty, so that would do, for now. The reluctance to let go of Adele'd hand was strong, alas.

"So, Adele, what do you think I should take, tonight? I'm not sure of your experience with any drinks, but I've never had any, so your little has to be better than my none. Does it taste good? Is it worth it? I've seen quite a few patrons acting quite foolish on the drink... I ask because I'm feeling in the need of some foolish, right now. It's been a long few weeks. I want to unwind and have a blast, not stress over everything. So, yes! That will do. Find me a 'pint' of whatever's best around here, dear." Cass sat happily with a smile, wondering what the big deal over this alcohol thing was.

[Terrador]

If you lead a bear to booze, can you teach him to drink?

Angus is far from the first to wander into the Farmer's Boot, carrying an animal that reeked of duck leavings and other delightful pond detritus even worse than he did. Strangers bumped him on each side as he searched for a table, balancing a grip on two meads in one hand and Geoffrey in the other. Soon enough, he happened to be shoulder-to-shoulder with that bowman-cleric, Emmet. Had it really only been a handful of days since that fight? And... he'd made a right fool of himself not long before that, hadn't he.

"Oei, Emmet." Significantly friendlier than the last time he'd said those two words, but still not quite what Angus was hoping for. "I'll be sat over there; maybe swing by once you've got yours, eh? I'm thinkin' we oughtta talk." Flubbed, for the second time in a row that day, but it was no terribly great matter. At least he had some small joy ahead of him.

The mooncalf seats his bear beside him, setting a drink in front of the beast. He would only be allowed the one, of course, but Angus could only wonder.

Angus has a mead!

Geoffrey is offered a mead!

[Shin]

Pass the Bottle

The bartender was rather pleased with the group that had arrived in town, it had given him an extra two dozen people or so to serve, always good for business. The villagers didn't seem to mind their presence too much either, the fesitivites would have probably gone on with or without the group present. The Reliants felt far more comfortable than they did on the boat, it was a far more normal atmosphere than being surrounded by nobles. Emily in particular seemed to be having fun, the woman had struck up conversation with Decima, the mage noticeably swaying as she stood.

"I'm telling you, the boss could take Kearney any day." Emily slurred, nearly dropping her flagon. "He might have a horse, but the boss could run and catch up with no problems at all."

Decima seemed a little puzzled by the bold declaration, it was as if she hadn't expected her to say any of it at all. "I... just asked what your name was." she replied, aware that Emily probably wasn't entirely sober... or normal. "I'm Decima, one of the Valter sisters. Aren't you one of Lady Adeltrudis' mercenaries?"

The other Reliants were mostly sticking together, although Morganna was oddly distracted, leaning on a table and looking away from the rest of the group.

-

Awakening

Scuttle had been out for several hours, or at least it had felt like it. When she'd come to, she would find her wrists and ankles had been tied behind her as she lay on the floor. The stained windows and the wooden benches around her meant she was probably in a church, but how she'd gotten there was all but a mystery.

"Good evening, Susan." Sebastian greeted, the man sitting on one of the benches around her. "It's so good of you to join me. I would have hated to spend the entire night alone watching you. It's been a while since I've last seen you, I was very much surprised at your antics. Perhaps you have some interesting stories to tell? Master Javier always said you loved the tales he passed on to you."

Nobody else was present and the door was firmly shut, Sebastian was intent on keeping her locked up. "Now, do share... what do you know about that little vial?" Sebastian asked, his stern gaze fixed on the bard.

[Ether]

"To be perfectly honest with you, it tastes foul and is not worth it in the slightest. I would prefer to have no experience with it than what little I do have. Sorry to be a killjoy I suppose, but I recommend you take nothing but water." Adele replied with a shudder as Cassandra pulled her along, asking her of alcohol of all things. She herself was reluctant to sit at the table Cass had chosen, straight away.

"Besides, are you sure the bar is the best place for you? We both know of the... complications... this sort of place has."